Langerak backed to become Stuttgart's first choice

Former Stuttgart captain Matthieu Delpierre reckons his old club have signed a gem in Australia goalkeeper Mitch Langerak.

Published

16 August 2015

Mitch Langerak has been backed to make Stuttgart's number one spot his own, even though the Australia goalkeeper will miss his new club's Bundesliga opener on Sunday.

Langerak signed a three-year contract with Stuttgart in June, ending his five-year association with Borussia Dortmund, but the 26-year-old suffered a setback when he injured a muscle in his upper leg in July.

He will sit out Stuttgart's first match of the 2015-16 league season against Cologne, with fellow new signing Przemyslaw Tyton set to start in goal for Alexander Zorniger's side.

Poland's Tyton played 32 of 38 La Liga matches on loan at Elche from PSV last term.

But former Stuttgart captain Matthieu Delpierre – who now plays for Langerak's first professional club Melbourne Victory – reckons the Australian will eventually win the battle of the goalkeepers.

"I think it's a good time [in his career] to play and I think in Stuttgart they want him as a number one, that's why I think it was a good move and a good time to do it," Delpierre told Omnisport.

Langerak left Dortmund with just 19 league appearances, as he was generally the second goalkeeper behind Roman Weidenfeller and, in a sign of how he is rated by Stuttgart, has been given the number one shirt.

But he earned himself an impressive reputation as a big-game player during his time at Signal Iduna Park, helping Dortmund to victory in the 2012 DFB-Pokal final and the 2014 DFL-Supercup.

Both those wins came against Bayern Munich, with Langerak holding a perfect record against the Bavarian giants – four wins from as many matches, including a 3-1 triumph in the 2010-11 Bundesliga season on his Dortmund debut.

"I saw a few games from him and he was pretty good. He's a good goalkeeper definitely," said Delpierre, who played for Stuttgart from 2004 to 2012 and won the title with them in 2006-07.

The French defender added: "Hopefully he can come back quickly and take [the gloves] but I think he's a good signing for Stuttgart."